THE BARE BEAUTY OF THE KAROO

The Karoo with its long dusty roads may seem quite barren and desolate and without life if you visit for the first time, but do not be fooled. Here you will discover fossils and interesting plants, look closer and you might be surprised at what you see and hear. Make return trips, in different seasons, and you will experience the Karoo like never before!

Heading north or south Graaff Reinet is sort of the resting point and leg stretch for motorists. It is the heartbeat of the Karoo with blue skies and wide open spaces yet it has a beauty and a charm of its own.

Make that trip, even in the middle of the winter, when it is freezing cold and the water stops flowing in the waterpipes because of minus temperatures. This is a time to dress up nice and warm, muffled against the cold with beanies, scarves, JBays, mohair socks, etc. This is the best time for clear blue skies and starry nights, cuddling up in front of the fire place and sipping on hot chocolate and share the hospitality of the people from the Karoo. Winter is also the hunting season in the Karoo. Hunters turn up with their rifles and stalk Springbuck and Kudu in the veld, testing their hunting skills, and afterwards you are rewarded with the joy of biltong. For us hunting is a yearling family outing.

In summer you will see yet another picture of the same landscape! You will see lone windmills standing in the scorching sun, their big wheels driven by the Karoo breeze, faithfully doing their duty for the farmer and his animals. I do not know if it is just me, but I always see a photo opportunity in a windmill …? The Karoo is also a place where you will discover ravines with waterfalls, if you know where to look.

The Karoo is a place where you can turn back to basics.. Switch off all that tech stuff that you bring with. Forget about social media and being connected. Listen to the heartbeat of the Karoo. Your heart will be filled with memories and you will never leave empty handed. Support the local businesses – they rely heavily on tourism in times of hardship – buy a pair of mohair socks, a piece of biltong, spring water …… whatever …… there are lots of entrepreneurs that creates interesting goodies.

This is a place where there is enough time in a day, where you sit on the stoep, drink coffee in the company of good friends and chat for long hours, take man’s best friend and go for a hike to admire the sun rising over the Karoo landscape.

The Karoo is a place of silence, long dusty roads, interesting plants and fossils, snow and sheep and homemade goodies stacked on farmstall shelves. The Karoo is an interesting place indeed and worth a visit. A place that you will return to for another visit and for another reason!

Hangar 7 at Salzburg Airport is by no means a normal hangar; it is one of Salzburg′s contemporary top-attractions.
A private airport hangar owned by the founder of the energy drink company “Red Bull”, Dietrich Mateschitz.
It was built for hosting his private aeroplane collection.

Let’s have a chat over a cuppa or two. We want to hear your travel stories!!

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